Opinion: Celtic star should be unleashed up until potential January exit

What is going to happen with Celtic striker Georgios Giakoumakis in the January transfer window? That is something for the club to consider when the window opens, and the player could be leaving Celtic Park.

There has been a lot of speculation about the striker’s future, with most recently The Scottish Sun reporting that the player could be target for clubs in Saudi Arabia during the January transfer window.

With all the speculation, the reports that contract talks have broken down and Giakoumakis has recently changed his agent, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise to see the 28-year-old leave the Hoops in the January transfer window.

However, at the moment Celtic don’t have a replacement for the striker signed, and of course, should a new striker come in, they won’t be able to play until the January transfer window.

In the meantime, Celtic have four league games to play before the January transfer window opens – the Hoops should feature Giakoumakis in all of those games, as he still has a role to play for the club even if he does depart Celtic in the January transfer window.

It should be remembered that Celtic only really have two strikers available for selection in the first-team, Giakoumakis and Kyogo, and the Hoops will need both of those players available for selection for the games that the Bhoys will be playing over the next few weeks.

That means that Giakoumakis might well need to be unleashed from the start by Ange Postecoglou in at least one of Celtic’s next four games as the Hoops look to stay clear at the top of the Premiership table.

You have to think that Giakoumakis will be professional enough to give his all for Celtic in the games that he could play in before a potential Hoops exit, as that would surely show teams that are interested in signing the Greek international that he is a player worth investing in, as he willing to give his all before a potential exit from the club that he is currently playing for. 

It remains to be seen if Giakoumakis will remain a Celtic player when the transfer window closes, but until a deal is agreed – if one is agreed – for the player to leave Celtic, he should feature for the Hoops first-team up until then. He is more than capable of finding the back of the net for the Bhoys, and you can’t just remove players with that ability from the first-team squad when you are looking to win a title, and the Celtic manager will be well-aware of that and will deal with the situation.